COVID-19 Update Alabama Department of Public Health February 18, 2021 Alabama Department of Public Health

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MONTGOMERY-Getting COVID-19 vaccine into the arms of Alabamians as quickly as possible is our goal.ADPH is conducting clinics daily, including drive-though clinics in some counties. Limited vaccine remains the greatest challenge in Alabama and other states.

COVID-19 Cases—484,365
COVID-19 Deaths—9,424
COVID-19 Hospitalizations (as of February 17)—44,541
Beginning February 8, vaccine eligibility expanded to include phase 1b and people 65 years and older. The Alabama COVID-19 Vaccination Allocation Plan outlines the various phases, and is available here:
www.alabamapublichealth.gov/covid19vaccine/assets/adph-covid19-vaccination-allocation-plan.pdf
Average 1stDoses of Vaccine Shipped to Alabama Per Week—60,000 to 70,000
Vaccine Doses Administered—685,870
Vaccine Doses Delivered to Alabama—1,032,175
Alabama Healthcare Providers Enrolled—1,094

COVID-19 Cases
More than 480,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Alabama, and Alabama’s case fatality rate is more than 1.9 percent. During the past 2 weeks, COVID-19 numbers have trended downward, and hospitalization rates are one-third of what they were a month earlier. Alabama’s percent positivity of 11.3 percent is its lowest since November 1. Slightly more than 10 percent of Alabamians have received a first-dose vaccination and about 10 percent have been infected with COVID-19.

COVID-19 Vaccination Update
During the week of February 7-13, more than 150,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in Alabama, and state providers are administering vaccine as quickly as possible. While the state expects to receive more than 90,0000 vaccine doses the week of February 21-27, there is still a relative lack of vaccine for providers.

Race and Ethnicity Demographics
At this time, 54.9 percent of vaccine has gone to white persons, 11.7 percent to African Americans, and the race and ethnicity of 31.6 percent of persons are unknown or not reported. About 25 percent of the state’s residents are African American. As expansion continues, ADPH hopes to rectify racial and ethnic disparities by offering walk-in clinics in close proximity to low-income neighborhoods and providing mobile vaccination sites for rural areas. Other strategies include targeted efforts to dispel vaccination myths among African Americans, offering transportation to vaccination sites, and vaccinating homebound individuals in congregate settings or homes. Demographic information is available on the vaccine distribution dashboard, that can be accessed here arcg.is/0brSGj

UK Variant – B.1.1.7
ADPH is partnering with several private and commercial laboratories in the state to expand its ability to identify COVID-19 strains that are known to be more transmissible. To date, 8 variant strain cases of the highly transmissible COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant have been identified in Alabama residents, but only a couple of the cases had out-of-state travel prior to illness onset which indicates this variant strain is already circulating in Alabama. Cases were identified in residents of Autauga, Jefferson, Madison, Mobile and Montgomery counties. The cases that have been identified correspond with the counties where a small portion of laboratories are collecting specimens for sequencing, so there is much yet to be determined about the variant’s spread. The variant was first identified in the United Kingdom.

COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments That Are No Longer Needed Should Be Cancelled
Please be considerate of others and cancel your scheduled COVID-19 vaccine appointment if you cannot make it or have received your vaccine elsewhere. This helps ensure that other people have access to appointments.

Second Dose Large-Scale Mass Vaccination Clinics To Be Held in March
Eight large-scale mass vaccination clinics took place throughout the state February 8-12, with more than 70,000 first doses given out. Clinics were located in Anniston, Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, Selma, and Tuscaloosa.  Attendees will return to the same locations in March to receive their second dose. Additional information will be provided soon.

COVID-19 Vaccine Delayed Second Doses Due to Inclement Weather
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that if a delay occurs in the normal schedule for receiving a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may be administered up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose. ADPH will assure the opportunity for people to get their second dose over the next 2 weeks, including providing extended clinic hours as staffing availability permits. ADPH is pleased that there was no loss of vaccine in Alabama due to the inclement weather.

Volunteers Supporting ADPH for Vaccine Distribution
As of today, ADPH has 455 medical volunteers, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, dentists, and LPNs, verified to support COVID-19 clinical activities. Please email requests to volunteer to Thresa.Dix@adph.state.al.us, and include your discipline, license number and county in which you would like to volunteer.

Be Aware That Vaccine Shortages Remain
Many county health departments are no longer offering first doses of COVID-19 vaccines and are currently administering only second doses to those people at highest risk and whose shots are already scheduled. This is due to the limited supply of vaccine. Please be patient and wait to schedule your own vaccination appointment if you have no underlying health issues or have limited contact with other people. Showing consideration for others will allow your neighbors who may be at higher risk to schedule their COVID-19 vaccinations.

Media Release/Alabama Department of Public Health

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